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WALKER - Cass County's contract to board prisoners at Crow Wing County Jail continues to be the most cost-effective option for the county, Administrator Robert Yochum reported Tuesday in response to a board request for information on jail costs.

"Our partners (Crow Wing County) have managed their costs well," Yochum said.

Cass County currently maintains state authorization to operate a full-service jail at Walker, but only uses it to house sentence to serve program inmates and those being booked into jail from Backus to the north county border.

Because of the low jail population there, four jailer positions have been eliminated through attrition.

All inmates awaiting court hearings or sentenced are housed at Crow Wing County Jail under a contract cost of $46.99 per day in 2010, which will go to $47.69 in 2011. The county had paid (before Crow Wing built its new jail) up to $60 per day to board Cass prisoners in other counties farther from Walker.

Even with the cost of transporting inmates in groups by van from Brainerd to Walker for court appearances, Sheriff Randy Fisher told the board Cass's per inmate jail costs are cheaper using Crow Wing County's facility than if Cass were to move most of its inmates back to Walker.[[In-content Ad]]This is partly because Cass would still have to board some inmates in other jails at a higher rate and with transportation from farther away from Brainerd.

Cass' jail at Walker is licensed for 52 prisoners. However, state rules prevent housing that many, because juvenile, male and female prisoners must be held in separate areas. Sentenced prisoners must be separated from pre-sentenced.

Real life situations seldom match the exact divisions within the jail facility. Further, Cass' jail, older than Crow Wing's, was not built for as high an efficiency ratio for jailers to inmates.

Hiring back four jailers, and increasing food costs to move all Cass inmates back to Walker and board any overflow elsewhere is estimated to cost Cass $926,875 per year. Cass currently pays Crow Wing $686,200 per year.



While Cass could downgrade its jail to a 72-hour hold facility, Yochum said the county would then lose its rating to house sentence to serve inmates. The conversion would cost the county $111,593, he said, partly because the sentence to serve inmates would have to serve their time at Crow Wing County Jail, increasing Cass's costs there.

There would also be costs to re-activating Cass's jail to full-use status at a later date.

Cass's inmate population hit a peak daily average in 2006 of 68 inmates per day. Cass's original contract with Crow Wing County was for 60 inmates per day.

Since then, inmate populations have declined until in 2010 they average 49 per day, with a daily peak of 54. Cass has lowered its guaranteed contract to Crow Wing to 47 inmates per day. Crow Wing has more beds available when Cass's inmate population exceeds the contract number.

"The present status is the most cost effective," Yochum said.

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